Sanctuary from the Upper East Side
by pony-girl298
Summary: A vacation to Old City takes an unexpected turn when Nate, Chuck, Blair and Serena find themselves being rescued from a venomous abnormal by Dr. Magnus. Welcome to a world beyond your imagination, that not even Gossip Girl knows about
1. Chapter 1

A vacation to Old City takes an unexpected twist

* * *

><p>Blair, Chuck, Nate and Serena staggered down the street. It was three in the morning and they had just left the club. Serena was the drunkest. She stumbled on her stilettos and leaned on the boys for support.<p>

"I am never drinking again," she groaned and clutched her head.

Nate and Chuck exchanged a glance.

"You say that every time," sighed Nate.

"No! I mean it! I feel like shit."

"You say that every time too," Chuck muttered.

Blair was trying, without success, to hail them a cab.

"Am I invisible? Are cab drivers in this city blind?" she raged as another taxi drove by without stopping. "I miss New York. It's the only civilized city in the world."

It was summer vacation. They all wanted to escape New York but Blair was tired of the Hamptons. So, Nate proposed a road trip to Old City. It had something for all of them: Shopping for Blair, nightlife for Serena, business contacts for Chuck. And for Nate? For Nate it was on the other side of the continent, and that was enough for him. He just needed to get away from New York, far away.

Serena suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and dove for the alleyway.

"S?" Blair ran over in time to see her barf on a pile of garbage.

Chuck grimaced. "And the night is complete."

"Shut up," Blair snapped.

Just then, Nate noticed a young woman standing in the shadows of the alleyway. No one had noticed her because she was wearing black and blended in with the darkness. She clearly knew that she'd been seen because she walked slowly forward.

She looked a little older than them. She wore a black double breasted trench coat buttoned all the way up, covering her from throat to knees. She had wild curly black hair that tumbled around her shoulders. She was beautiful. But the beauty was tempered by the slow, knowing smile that was creeping on to her face. It was not a nice smile.

"It's awfully late to be out all alone," said the woman. Her voice was low and sultry, the kind of voice that belonged to the femme fatale in an old film noire.

"That's why we're together," Nate said. He was shocked at the slight tremble in his voice.

"Are you know?" the woman said conversationally. Something about her was dangerous. Nate wondered if they were about to be mugged. As she walked closer, Nate could see that her eyes were icy blue and her pupils were narrow vertical slits. He gasped. She ignored him.

The woman glanced at Serena. "Your friend doesn't look so good."

"She's just had too much to drink," Blair said. "She'll be fine. Come on, S." Blair hauled Serena to her feet.

Before any of the New Yorkers could move, the woman had moved and was blocking them from leaving the alleyway. Nate gasped. He swore she had moved too fast, faster than any human could move.

"You can't leave yet," she smirked. "We're just getting to know each other."

"We really need to go back to the hotel."

Nate silently cursed Blair. You don't tell the dangerous woman that you're from out of town!

Chuck stepped forward then. He had his in-control face on. "And we would love to stay and get to know you in intimate detail," he matched the woman's sultry voice. "But our friend is in really bad shape. Maybe this will persuade you to step aside." Chuck pulled a hundred from his pocket.

The woman snarled like a dog. It was a strange sound coming from a human. She rushed at Chuck, faster than a human could move, Nate was sure. She grabbed Chuck by the throat and slammed him against the wall. She lifted him with one hand so that he was on tip-toe.

"Is that what you think of me?" she growled, showing teeth that were sharper and deadlier looking than they'd been a second ago. The sexiness of her voice was gone. It was rough and harsh like sandpaper now. "You think I'm some whore you can just buy off?"

Nate grabbed her free arm to try and pull her off. She half turned and hit him with the arm he was grabbing. Nate flew back and slammed into the other wall.

"Nate!" Serena cried.

Nate hurt all over. He had been in fights before but he generally avoided them and he'd never been thrown into a wall. It was impossible. He was bigger than this woman, but she'd thrown him like he weighed nothing. Who was this woman with super speed and super strength?

Chuck had managed to kick her in the gut. She grunted and dropped him. Chuck staggered to Nate, clutching his throat.

"You OK, man?" Nate asked.

Chuck nodded silently.

The woman had recovered. She rubbed her stomach and groaned. She turned and sneered at Chuck and Nate. "Big mistake, Little Boy," she laughed. It was a cruel sound.

She walked forward. Nate threw a punch. She easily dodged it and Nate stumbled past her. He punched again. This time, she grabbed his arm as it went by her and pulled him off balance. With her other hand, she punched him in the breastbone.

Pain shot through Nate. He couldn't breathe. His eyes watered. She threw him to the ground and he lay there in pain, unable to catch his breath or stand.

A flashlight beam lit up the alleyway and a silhouette of a woman appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Alison!" the new woman's English accent echoed down the alleyway. Nate looked up and could see that the new woman had a gun trained on Alison.

She had been about to punch Chuck. Instead, she raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and smiled cruelly.

"Dr. Magnus," the sexy voice was back. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I think you know, Alison."

Alison chuckled and stood up slowly from Chuck. She backed away. In one quick, smooth motion, Alison whirled and grabbed Blair, holding her like shield. Blair cried out but stopped as the woman dug her nail into Blair's neck. Nate looked up. They weren't nails anymore, they were claws.

Dr. Magnus raised the gun and aimed it at Alison and Blair.

"Careful there, Doc," Alison taunted. "Don't want any collateral damage."

"It's a stunner," the English woman said. "I'll shoot you both if I have to."

Stunner? What was this, the Matrix? Actually, Dr. Magnus looked like a character out of the Matrix in her leather jacket and dark jeans.

Alison smiled again. "Or maybe you'll only hit the girl–"

"Or maybe I won't."

"And I'll throw her at you and get away while you're stopping her from bashing her pretty little head in on the concrete."

Dr. Magnus glared daggers at her. Alison pressed her claws into Blair's neck, breaking the skin slightly. Blair stifled a sob.

"Stop," Dr. Magnus warned. "You know my intentions. The next move is yours." They stood frozen in a tableau for a moment.

Then Alison moved. She threw Blair at Dr. Magnus. Just like Alison said she would, Dr. Magnus caught the girl. Alison dodged around her towards the street. Nate grabbed her coat as she ran by. It whirled her around and she lashed out at Nate.

"Ah!" Nate cried out as her claws scraped across his face. He let go of her.

A strange sound filled the air and a burst of blue light flew from Dr. Magnus's gun. It hit Alison square in the chest. She spasmed, her head jerked back, and she crumpled in a heap on the ground.

Dr. Magnus tapped her ear piece. "Henry, we're at 94th and River. Bring the van."

Blair was bawling into Serena's arms. Blair acted tough but she had never been physically threatened in her life.

Dr. Magnus strode over to Nate. "Good work," she said. She caught sight of the slashes on his face and neck and gasped. She took his chin in her hand and shined the flashlight at him.

"I'm fine," he mumbled trying to push her off.

"Not for long. The claws of a Varanus Hominid contain a powerful neurotoxin."

"Vara-what?" Chuck gasped. "What the hell is going on? Who are you?

Dr. Magnus ignored him and continued to address Nate. "Both you and your friend need to come to the Sanctuary immediately. I have the anti-venom there."

A black van pulled up on the street and a scruffy looking man jumped out. He jogged over to them. When he saw Alison on the ground, he gave a low whistle.

"You know, Doc, if you needed back up you should have called," he said.

"I had the situation under control."

The man looked at Nate's neck. "Venomous Bitch do that to you?"

Nate figured he meant Alison so he nodded.

"Then, you're coming too," the man tied Alison's wrists together. "Help me haul her into the van, will ya?"

"Wait!" Blair said. She had composed herself. "We don't even know you. This night has been weird enough. We're not getting into a van with the Monster Hunters."

"We don't have time for this!" Dr. Magnus said. "You both have been infected by her venom. If you don't come with me right now, you will start to have painful internal organ failure followed by seizures, followed by death. Is that what you want?"

The New Yorkers stared at her.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Serena whispered.

Dr. Magnus nodded.

Chuck helped the man, who introduced himself as Henry, put Alison into the back of the van. One by one, they climbed in, Henry gunned the engine and they drove off into the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck had long ago promised himself never to get in a vehicle with a beautiful woman that he didn't either know or pay for. He never expected to break that rule. Yet here he was sitting in the back of Dr. Magnus's van with Serena, Blair, Nate and a monster-woman of some kind tied up on the floor. The van rumbled along to God only knew where, with Henry and Doctor Magnus in the front seat and the other four in the back with the unconscious Alison. The four New Yorkers were all huddled together despite their being a lot of room in the back. Alison was frightening even unconscious.

"Are you sure she's not going to wake up?" Serena called forward.

Dr. Magnus half turned in her seat. "The stunner is good for an hour. We're ten minutes away from the Sanctuary." Serena nodded, reassured. Dr. Magnus didn't look happy though. She looked past Serena to Nate.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Nate didn't hear her. He had his eyes closed and his head slumped down onto his chest.

"Nate? Nate?" Chuck prodded him in the shoulder. Nate jerked his head up, whacking it on the wall behind him.

"Ungh! Yeah, I'm fine."

He didn't look fine. He was drenched in sweat and shivering. He drew a breath and everyone could hear the rattling sound in his chest. Chuck, usually the one to keep calm, at least on the exterior, was worried. Dr. Magnus had said organ failure. Was this...?

Dr. Magnus unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed into the back. She crouched in front of Nate and laid a hand on his forehead.

"Increased temperature. Abnormal breathing. How many fingers do you see?" She held up two.

Nate tried to focus on Dr. Magnus's hand. "Um... seven?"

"The toxin is working faster than it should." Dr. Magnus looked worried. She turned to Blair. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," answered Blair. "What's wrong with him?"

"An adverse reaction of some kind. Is he allergic to bee stings?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"The Varanus venom closely resembles the chemical formula of a bee's sting," Dr. Magnus took Nate's hands and tried to make him look at her. "Nate? Nate, do you have an EpiPen?" His eyes drooped.

"No," Chuck, his lifelong friend, answered for him. "The doctors said the allergy isn't severe enough. He's never had one."

"Damn, Henry! Step on it!"

The van's tires squealed around the corner and a huge gothic mansion loomed upon them. It was surrounded by a high wall but the wrought iron gate swung open as they approached.

Before they'd even stopped, the back door was wrenched open. Serena screamed. A huge hairy man stood in the doorway. He looked like the Sasquatch or wolf-man from a B-horror movie. If Chuck hadn't been so worried for Nate, he'd have made a snarky comment. The monster-man and Dr. Magnus ignored Serena.

"He needs to go to the infirmary immediately," Dr. Magnus said, as she handed him a now unconscious Nate. "Give him a dose of epinephrine and prep the Varanus anti-venom." The man picked up Nate like he weighed nothing and started for the door.

"Wait! Where are you taking him?" Blair jumped out of the van and swooned. Chuck caught her. "I feel light-headed." Blair blinked and shook her head.

"The venom is affecting you too," Dr. Magnus said. "Come on, all of you. Henry and Kate, put Alison in a secure cell." Dr. Magnus took Blair by the shoulder and Serena followed them inside. Chuck stayed with the van.

A dark beautiful woman had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She must be Kate. Chuck was surprised that he hadn't noticed her. She was the type that you noticed. Then again, beautiful women had been surprising him all night. And not in a good way. At least this one wasn't holding him by the throat. Yet.

Kate wheeled a gurney over to the van, shoving Chuck out of the way with her shoulder.

"Out of the way, buddy," she said. She climbed into the van and she and Henry dropped Alison onto the gurney.

"Wasn't she just in here last month?" Kate asked Henry.

"Yup. I reckon Dr. Magnus will keep her for longer this time. Teach her a lesson."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Great. Should be fun feeding her in the morning."

Henry laughed humourlessly. Chuck followed them inside.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"You still here?" Kate glanced at him. "This is the Sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?"

"We're kind of like an orphanage but not just for kids," Henry said. "We take in people who have nowhere else to go."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, an orphanage with jail cells and guns and top of the line equipment."

"Aww, you're too kind," Henry smiled and blushed in the dim light.

Seeing Chuck's shocked face, Kate elaborated. "Not all our guests are here voluntarily," she gestured to Alison, still unconscious. "Case in point."

They had arrived in front of a cell with a sturdy window in it. Henry punched a code into the key pad and Kate pushed Alison's gurney into it.

They locked her in.

"What's your name anyway?" Kate asked. "I'm Kate Freelander." She held out her hand and Chuck shook it and introduced himself. He looked through the glass at Alison. He admitted to himself that she frightened him. This whole experience frightened him, though he would never say it out loud. A woman with retractable venomous claws, Dr. Magnus's strange gun, the man who had opened the van door.

"Explain to me again what the Sanctuary is?" Chuck demanded. He didn't like not understanding. "Exactly what kinds of orphans do you take in?"

Kate smirked at him. "See for yourself."

Kate and Henry led him out of a door at the other end of the hall. Chuck stopped and stared around in wonder.

Chuck didn't impress easily, but this room, this place. He'd never seen anything like it. The room was as big twice the size of a basketball court and round. A dozen screens hung from a round trellis on the ceiling. The room was styled to look old but it was filled with technology the likes of which Chuck had never seen, even on TV. The walls were divided by huge glass panels. Inside each panel was a huge room, the size of a house.

He stared at a chamber that contained water, like an aquarium. As he approached, a shadow appeared. A mermaid.

Chuck kept walking.

The next chamber was filled with mist. He couldn't see anything.

A huge tentacle with a suction cup on the end shot out and smacked the glass.

"Ah!" Chuck jumped back. Kate and Henry laughed. The tentacle retracted.

Chuck slowly turned around, his eyes wide. He saw a lizard the size of a horse in a chamber across from the tentacle. It belched fire at the glass.

"M-monsters?" he stammered.

"We don't use that word here," Henry said quickly. "We say Abnormals."

"We've got everything from Alison back there to the sorkel to Sally, the mermaid." Kate smiled at his shock. "The world is a much bigger place than you knew."

A voice boomed from loudspeakers overhead.

"Henry, Kate, is Chuck with you?" Dr. Magnus's voice boomed out.

"Yeah!" Henry called back.

"His friend Blair is asking for him."

"Blair?" Chuck looked around, half expecting to see her. He stopped and looked up, awkwardly addressing the ceiling. "Where is she?"

"I've put her in room 4. Serena is with her."

A few short minutes later, Chuck was sitting on Blair's bed. Blair had orders to stay in bed for a few hours while the anti-venom worked its magic. Nate was sleeping in the infirmary under the watchful eye of Dr. Magnus and Will.

Chuck tried to describe to Blair and Serena what he'd seen and learned about the Sanctuary.

"That's impossible!" Serena gasped.

"I would have said the same, but you saw the wolf-man who opened the van door. And Alison with her claws."

"Yeah," Blair pointed to the scabs on her neck. "Alison was definitely real."

The three were silent for a moment.

"How can this be true?" Serena said finally. "I feel like someone has un-blindfolded me. It's scary. This is our life, but it's... not."

"How many more are there?" Blair asked. She rubbed her neck absently. Serena grabbed her hand to make her stop.

"Kate says a lot," Chuck said. "She says that Abnormals, as they call them, are everywhere and that lots of them live with us and we don't even know."

"We wouldn't have known about Alison if she hadn't lost her temper," Serena pointed out. "She looks human. But..." It was so strange to be saying out loud.

They sat, trying to wrap their heads around what they'd just learned.


End file.
